A Brief History of Good Shepherd Church

Good Shepherd Church is one of the sixteen churches established by Taiwan Anglican Church (which was itself established in 1954). Since 1963, Good Shepherd has been servicing congregants of foreign nationalities in the Greater Taipei region at a premise borrowed from the Mt. Yangming Presbyterian Church, as directed by the Rt. Rev. Charles Gilson. After a series of relocations, in 1965, Good Shepherd purchased a 700-ping block of land situated at its current premise with the help of a US$35,000 loan from CCSEA and a US$5,000 cash donation from an overseas Chinese congregant. The Good Shepherd church building was completed in March 1966 and began its services on 21 December 1966. Chinese worship service was first introduced in January 1967. The second extension of the church was completed in 1973 and the third in 1976. As a result of a fund raising program started in 1977, Good Shepherd managed to repay its outstanding loan. In 1982, Good Shepherd began the construction of its community center which was completed in 1984.

Currently, there are totally 200 members of the congregation - 150 ethnic Chinese and the rest foreigners. Average attendance for Chinese worship service is 80 and English worship service 35. The average attendance for bilingual worship service scheduled on the fourth Sunday of every month is 90.

To promote Christianity and community spirit through pre-school education, Good Shepherd established its own kindergarten programs in 1968. As a result of the hard work and devotion of the kindergarten staff, the number of students has increased from 12 in the first year to more than 160 at present.

With the help of some parents of kindergarten students, Good Shepherd Church established the “Good Shepherd Friendship Group” in 1981 to carry out community services. A library was established in 1982 to service the community and it has proven to upgrade the quality of life for locals and congregants.

In December 1996, Good Shepherd was contracted by the Taipei City Government Social Affairs Bureau to operate an aged care community center for the Shih Lin District. In March 1999, Good Shepherd purchased a residential home for the English Chaplain on Hsin Yi Road in Tien Mu to provide pastoral care to English-speaking members of the congregation. Since October 1999, Good Shepherd began providing services to senior citizens of the locality by operating a senior’s continuing education program, a community medical and health care service program, and, in conjunction with Hsin Kong Memorial Hospital, a meals-on-wheels program for the lonely and/or disabled senior citizens located within 2-kilometer radius of the aged care center and Hsin Kong Hospital. Good Shepherd also has a team of trained volunteers to provide on-going care to the seniors. These volunteers visit the seniors regularly, accompany them to doctors, clean their homes, coordinate a seniors social group, visit aged care centers, and advocate for seniors’ welfare in conjunction with other community service groups.

Good Shepherd purchased a nearby residential home (No. 497 Chung Cheng Road) in October 2000. This effort aimed to expand Good Shepherd’s existing operation of continuing education for seniors and further Good Shepherd’s community services. The home was named “Green Pasture”. Green Pasture provides a community library and facilities for the disabled and is a center for leisure and community activities. Good Shepherd’s community services aim to benefit locals and, especially seniors.